Freelance journalist, feminist, activist

The real terrorists

Xenophobia has always been an issue in the Western World. There have always been people who are scared, and in turn derogatory of, races, religions and cultures which they are not a part of. The malicious comments that we’re seeing spewed daily since Trump’s victory are nothing new – at least not to those who’ve been targeted with the same bigoted slurs for years. The difference is, people begin to become overt with their intolerant comments once you elect a fascist as President who does the exact same thing.

Since Trump’s triumph, New York Police Department have reported a ‘115 percent increase in bias crimes,’ and, after the President introduced his ban on certain countries entry to the U.S., ‘the number of bias incidents against Muslims doubled.’ Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are the seven countries affected by the ban, and though the ban has recently been revised, the same countries are still those affected. People are dubbing the order a ‘Muslim Ban,’ and rightly so – statistically, all seven of these countries are of a Muslim majority. Before yesterday, even green card holders weren’t exempt from the ban. Whilst Trump supporters believe this ban to be a moral and just constraint to protect the safety of U.S. citizens, you have to look at who the real terrorists are in this situation – innocent refugees seeking safety from a war zone that Western civilisation created, or Western civilisation itself?

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There’s no denying that terrorism is a very real threat. But not only do the West have to accept our (huge) part to play in the escalation of this over recent years, we also have to look at how we’re helping resolve the situation. By generalisation of the peaceful Islamic population and total expulsion of an innocent party, we’ve been taught to fight hate with hate. Instead of the general population making a standpoint against this overarching bigotry, many of them have decided to promote Xenophobia even further by regurgitating untruths and objectionable ideologies: then there are those who claim to ‘not care enough’ about the situation to advocate those in a lesser position themselves.

Our daily struggles seem miniscule when we take into account how lucky we are to not have to fear for our lives on a daily basis – our families don’t have to flee from war, we don’t have to worry about where we can legally seek refuge should things become worse. As I sit here writing this in safety and warmth, with a roof over my head, food in my stomach and money in my bank, there are hundreds of thousands of citizens from all seven of those banned countries looking to emigrate for a number of reasons – for protection, a better lifestyle, or because they have no choice. And this is what the indoctrinated majority need to contemplate: if you or your family were in this situation, would you hesitate to do the same? The answer is probably no.

To exclude someone because of their religion is ignorant and wrong. To generalise a warm and neighbourly religion because of what you hear from a biased media without carrying out your own research into the statistics is ignorant and wrong – in fact, if we did undertake our own research, we would discover that 94% of terrorist attacks in the U.S. are carried out by non-Muslims: something the Western media would never cover. Until people begin thinking and learning for themselves, they’ll never break free from the shackles that are the Western ideal. Until people can consciously undo their zealot generalisations and begin treating one another with true kindness, the wars will be endless, the world forever in bloodshed.